Winch Tirfor

[yoshie]

Anyone used one of these.
I'm thinking of buying it to throw in the back.
Can hook it on when required.
Pulls 3" for every full stroke of the handle comes with 10m cable

[The Lovely Boyo]

Yoshie - buy it.

I have a 4 tonne hand winch that I lob in the back when going off road. All contained in a nice moulded plastic box. Kept in the garage when not needed.

Tried it out several times and been well impressed.

Not as bling as a winch but a lot lighter, cheaper and easier on fuel and the front suspension lol. And for the number of times you'll ever need a winch, well, I'm happy.

Quite easy to use at the back as well as the front - more versatile than a front mount winch methinks.

Lets the fireworks commmence....................

[nero279]

Best hand winch you can buy by a mile. Incredibly low maintenance - ie) fill it full of oil as often as you like, literally just drown the whole thing. Can even be stored in an oil bath along with the rope if you wanted to.

They don't like damaged rope though, but keep an eye on your rope (as you would anyway with any wire rope you were gonna pull the surf on ) and it'll be fine. Just check it periodically for kinks and birdcaging. The rope ends have to be tapered, or it won't feed properly but shouldn't cost any more than a standard winch rope really.

Only thing to watch really is if you're buying 2nd hand, make sure the shear pin in the base of the handle is still a bronze shear pin and hasn't been replaced by whacking a nail in, in place of the pin. If it has, chances are it's been overloaded, the proper pins are ten a penny (almost) so there's no reason to stick a steel nail in unless you plan to overload it again. It can't be overloaded with the proper shear pins as they are designed to fail before the winch is overloaded.

I think they are meant to be user servicable too, but been told to take bits out one at a time and lay them out the right way up and in order, so you know how and when they go back in.

[yoshie]

Cheers lads, confirmed my thoughts ie decent make, easy to care for, use it front or back and for the few times a winch is needed good old arm power should do.
I will let you know if I manage to get hold of it.

[spoofer28]

got two of them paib £40 for one
then got another at farm auction £8

[fatfires]

these were standard issue on fire appliances and if firefighters can use them without breaking them ...... they are are practicly bomb proof - Bl00dy good bit of kit, what was said about the shear pins earlier is true, many abusers will change the propper pins for steel, do that at your own risk. We used to test them by pulling a fire appliance accross the drill yard....but do check the cable carefully for needleing

[yoshie]

got two of them paib £40 for one
then got another at farm auction £8

Selling one ?????????????????

[chrisinflight]

If there`s one piece off equipment which you can throw in the back and rest assured you will self-recovery out of most situations- it`s the Tirfor.
be prepared for physical exercise as it`s hard work! Not really worth taking to play and pay sites as by the time you`ve unpacked it there will be someone with an electric winch there to help. Great for off-roading on your own though-(with ground-anchors) or if you go off-roading with someone with an electric winch it can be a good back up if you both get stuck or the electric fails.
A handy piece of kit, but my advice is to get a Tirfor as ther are lots of cheap chinese copies.
Cheers,
chris

[spoofer28]

both mine have the militery kite mark on them so should be okay